Hill-and-valley switch



Jan. 15, 1957 C, L. COX, JR 2,777,911

HILL-AND-VALLEY SWITCH Filed Nov. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 +5 @s zo ATTORNEYS Jan. 15, 1957 c. cox, JR 2,777,911

HILL-AND-VALLEY SWITCH Filed Nov. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVNTOR dr/e.; 2. 0,21, J7?

ATTORNEYS.

HILL-AND-VALLEY SWITCH Charles L. Cox, 1r., Los Angeles, Calif., assigner to Hetherington, Inc., Sharon Hill, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application November 24, 1954, Serial No. 470,844

6 Claims. (Cl. 200-77) The precent invention relates to hill-and-valley switches of the type used for controlling electric circuits, and pri' A further purpose is to guide a hill-and-valley springy member by the walls of a slot in insulating material to prevent the spring member from turning.

A further purpose is to secure the U-bend of a hilland-valley spring member to the push button of the switch.

A further purpose is to provide an eye at the U-bend of the hill-and-valley spring member and to secure the eye in iioating position in the socket ofa push button.

A further purpose is to restrain the eye in the socket of the push button by a washer spring urged against the push button by a retraction spring.

Further purposes appear in the specication and in the claims.

In the drawings I have chosen to illustrate one only of the numerous embodiments in which my invention may appear, selecting the form shown from the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactory operation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

Figure l isan axial section of a hill-and-valley switch according to the invention in retracted position.

Figure 2 is a View similar in Figure 1 showing the push button advanced.

Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 3 3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation.

Figure 5 is an axial section of the switch in retracted position, the section being taken on the line 5-5 of Figure l.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section showing the invention applied to a normally open switch, whereas Figures 1 to 5 show a normally closed switch.

Figure 7 is a front end transverse section showing the switch of the invention applied to a two circuit arrangement, one circuit being normally closed and the other circuit normally open.

Figure S is a longitudinal half section showing a flanged switch in accordance with the invention.

Describing in illustration but not in limitation and referring to the drawings:

Hill-andvalley switches have been widely employed using a rigid hill-and-valley cam, and a snorting bar having a snorting spring or springs which urge the shorting bar to one of two opposed longitudinal positions as the hill-and-valley cam moves. Efforts have also been made with limited success to employ la hill-and-valley spring to L manipulate a rigid snorting bar. i

One of the advantages of the present invention is that 2,777,911 Patented Jan. 15, 1957 the hilland-valley spring member is securely anchored against turning so that it is not likely to move into a position in which it could interfere with switch functioning.

A further advantage of the invention is that it is not necessary to anchor'the hill-and-valley spring member rigidly with respect to the push button noris the push button restrained against turning. The hill-and-valley spring member suitably floats with respect to the push button, and an eye formed on the U-bend end of the hill-and-valley spring member is held in a socket on the push button preferably by an insulating washer.

The lateral dimension of the switch has been reduced to a minimum by providing for crossing of the free ends ofthe hill-and-valley spring member in one position. Furthermore, positive assurance of holding the shorting bar in its normal position is obtained by providing dwells or parallel stretches on the ends of the hill-and-valley spring member to hold the shorting bar.

Considering now the drawings in detail, the switch housing is fonned by a rear insulating cup 2l) and a front metallic housing portion 2l joined together by a liange 22 on the` front metallic portion which extends around opposed rim portions 23 at the front of the cup and is rolled over at 24. y

The insulating cup has a hollow interior and secured as by comolding in the walls at suitably diametrically opposite positions are metallic contacts 25 and 26 which have forward radially inward projecting portions 27 which lie in a common shorting plane at 28 to engage ametallic shorting bar or Washer 3i) of electrically conducting material in closed position of the switch.

Openings 31 adjoining the xed contacts extend through the insulating back wall 32 of the cup and receive wires or pigtails 33 which are united to the contacts in any suitable way as by soldering at 34.

The forward housing portion 2l has an externally threaded shank 35 which is intended to be mounted in the control panel, suitably on an airplane, automobile or other installation, by nuts not shown. At the front the housing is inwardly tlanged at 36 and provides a suitably round push button opening 37 through which extends the forward portion of a push button 38 suitably of insulating material such as phenolic plastic.

The push button at its rearward end is outwardly ilanged at 40 to engage and ride in a longitudinal bore 41 in the forward housing, the ange 40 in normal position preventing the push button from moving forward far enough to leave the housing. The push button has a desirably circular concentric rearwardly directed socket 42 which desirably conforms to a segment of a sphere at its forward end 43. The socket receives and engages a generally circular eye portion 44 at the base of the U of a hill-and-valley Wire spring member 45 suitably of spring metal such as spring steel, spring-grade stainless steel, beryllium copper or the like. Rearwardly of the eye i4 the spring member has opposed cooperating arms 46 which are relatively close together at i7 to the rear of the eye, and pass through opening 48 at the center of an insulating washer 50 suitably of the outside diameter of the ange portion di) of the push button, and interposed between the push button and a helical retracting spring 51 which acts in the bore 41 behind the push button. The inside diameter of the insulating washer is small enough to hold the eye portion 44 of the hill-and-valley spring member against the push butcup and are secured by engagement on one side b y the metallic housing portion and on the other side by the insulating cup and the rolled-over portion 24 of the metallic housing flange. Also flats 5,3 .on the recess .S3 mate with corresponding ,flatson the guiding 4 washer and prevent turning.

The guiding washer 52 has a partitionS `which eX- tends across the interior of thehousing and provides a narrow elongated guiding slot yS through'which pass the arms 460i the hill-and-valley spring member. Thus the hill-and-valley spring member cannot turn because ofengagement with the walls ofthe slot 57, butthe push button is free to turn independently.

The partition 56 limits the forward movement ofthe shorting bar `by engaging andnholding it at 58 as best seen in Figure 2.

The shorting barhas an axial interioropening lwhich receives the free ends of the arms of the hill-and-valley spring member. Rearwardly of the eye the hill-andvalley spring member continues straight at 61 :behind the washer 50, and then has opposed rearwardly diverging tapered portions 62, then opposed apexes 63, then opposed rearwardly converging tapered portions 64 `and finally generally parallel dwell portions 65 at -,the very rear.

In operation, with the switch in normal position, the dwell portions 65 behind the rearwardly converging amasar;

. 4' ing portion 27 which are closed `by the shorting bar 30 when the switch is depressed.

Figure 7 shows a two circuit switch having contacts 26 in the position of the contacts in Figures l to 5 inclusive which are normally closed and contacts 26' in the position of the contacts `of Figure 6 which are normally open. The contacts 26' have inwardly projecting portions 27"?p1acedsimilarly -to the inwardly projecting portions 27 in Figure 6.

"While the switch-inthe forms previously shown istubu` lar at the front, itfis sometimes preferable to employ a iianged switch as shown in Figure 8. Here the'housing n is flanged over at the :front at V66 and receives anelastomer cap 67 which extends overthe push button and grips around the housing under the flange at v63.

The question of whether the terminals are made by wire pigtails, by solder terminals or by binding post attachment devices is .immaterial from the standpoint `of the invention.

In :view of my invention and disclosure variations and modilicationstomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless-become evident to others skilled in the art,

, to obtainall or partof-thc benefits of my invention withtapered portion 64 engage the interior of the shorting bar and hold it iirmly in circuit closing position against the shorting plane 28 of the contacts. When the operator pushes in `on the push button as shown in -Figure 2, the rearwardly converging tapered portion 64 are rst forced together by cam action on the interior of thershorting bar until the apexes 63 are passed and then the rearwardly diverging tapered portion 62 of the spring hilland-valley member cause the shorting `bar to snap or jump forward, breaking the contact suddenlywith a minif mum of arcing, and reaching the open switch position r of Figure 2, in which thevshorting bar engages the insulating partition. As the hillandvalley spring member has moved inwardly its free ends engaging one ariother have desirably crossed in a side by side position as shown in Figure 2, thus minimizing the diameter required. When the operator releases his linger from the push button, the push button `retracts under the raction of the retracting spring S1 and as the push button retracts it carries with it the hill-and-valley spring member due to the pull of the wallsof theopening in washer 50 `on eye e4, andthev rearwardly diverging `tapered `portions 62 of the hill-and-valley spring member first are .pulled through the opening in the shorting bar until `the apexes 63 ,are passed, and then `theshorting bar encountering therearwardly converging taper' portions 64 of the `hilland-valley spring member snaps rearwardly into -closed position as shown in Figures 1 and 5, closing the switch suddenly.

ln either open or closed position the vuser is free to turn the push button and this has nol effect in causing short circuiting because the hill-and-Valley spring member is restrained against turning and the hill-and-valley spring member lioats in the socket of the push button.

The question of whether the shorting bar makes .contact in its rearward or forward, ortin both forward and rearward, positions is relatively immaterial, and accordingly the form shown in which `the-circuit is brokenin the forward position lof the shorting liar` and closed Yiu the rearward position is merely illustrative of one'of the possible forms.

The invention is equally applicable to normally open switches or to normally closed -switches and to single circuit and multiple circuits. In the form of Figures 1 to 5 the switch is normally closed.

Figure 6 shows diagrammatically a similar switch having normally open contacts 26 having` inwardly projectout copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, .claim allsuch insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of roy-claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new. and desire to secure by Letters -Patent is:

1.111 an electric switch including a housing, spaced contacts having contact portions in a common lshorting planerin the housing, a shorting bar in the housing having an interior opening andtmovable from a position vremote from the'contacts to a position in the shorting plane against the contacts, push button means reciprocable in the housing and retracting spring means for the push button means, the invention which comprises a generally `U-shaped hilland-valleyspring having opposed arms, secured at one end to the push button, extending at the other end through the opening in the shorting bar, vand having opposed cooperating hump portions which are Vadapted to pass through the opening in the shorting bar and deflect the shorting bar toward and away from the shorting plane, and an insulating guide secured to the housing, having a slot through which the hill-andvalley spring passes between the push button and the shorting bar and restraining the hill-andvalley spring against turning.

2. An electric switch according to claim l, in which the base of the U of the hill-and-valley spring is in the push button means.

3. An electric switch according to claim 2, in which there is a socket in the interior of the push button means receiving the base of the U of the hill-and-valley spring, and the hill-and-valley spring has an eye in the socket, in combination with a washer interposed between the retractingspring -means andthepush button means, having an opening through which the hill-and-valley spring passes which is too small .to pass the eye.

4. An electric switch according to claim 3, in which the push button socket turns freely'around the eye.

5. An electric switch according to claim 1, in which the ends of thehill-and-valley spring arms cross when the shorting bar moves to the position .nearest the push button means.

6. An electric switch according to claim 1, in which the hill-and-valleyspring has arms have parallel dwell portions at vthe ends which hold the shorting bar in the limiting position remote from the push button means.

References Cited inthe tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,466,970 l Schellman Apr. 12, 1949 2,722,579 Rohacs NOV. 1, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 427,865 Y p Germany Apr. 21,1` 1926 "i 

